[foobarian]

It's complicated. If your contract says you can't do it, that means there is a legal path toward stopping you if someone bothers. That means someone has to care enough, which means that as long as you don't piss anyone off and don't get too much press you'll be fine. If you ask, it is in nobody's interest to say yes especially lawyers.

[WalterBright]

And yet I never had any trouble getting a 'yes'. One of those companies was Boeing - as big and bureaucratic as they get.